Downton - 11.60m + 513k = 12.113m
EastEnders - 11.33m + 968k* = 12.268m

968k (5.2%) is BBC3's official rating for EE's repeat.

Hmmm. Excluding +1/+2/+3's Downton is most watched, including it, EastEnders is. Contentious.

Brilliant for Downton.

The biggest timeshift ever I presume at over 3 million?

Let's just say both programmes did exceptionally well.

What are you talking about?

Doesn't this just prove my point?

Anyone have the BBC3 figures for the well established and popular EastEnders repeat? Be interesting to see if EE won on aggregate. Will have been close.

[Edit: just seen the figures. Congratulations to EE on being most watched show this Christmas Day. Just!]

Including them, EE wins. Excluding them, Downton wins. (see above)

Was there any Channel 4 data last night? I was hoping that Hacks rated 1.5m not including +1

Hacks had just under 600k.

Hilarious outcome in a way. Something for all of us to claim victory over.

But given ITV's obsession with +1s they can hardly not now aggregate both EE and DA. So by their own preferred measure, EE won Christmas Day.

Cheers for that, 1 pt in the RPG

EE wasn't on a +1 channel though.

Absolutely stunning timeshift for Downton, and lots of excellent timeshifts for other shows too.

Awaits the 'BBC Three doesn't count' arguements to fill most of 2012 discussions whenever Downton is mentioned

Ah, but the EE repeat on BBC3 finished at 5 minutes past midnight which is technically Boxing Day.

I'm not surprised Hacks flopped. One of those Channel 4 comedies that ever so smug and pleased-with-itself.


The report on the Daily Mail website on Alesha Dixon leaving Strictly makes no mention whatsoever of BGT.

And, as yet, no Daily Mail report on the official Christmas Day ratings. Despite the fact it's exactly the sort of programme that appeals to the average Daily Mail reader, the paper now hates Downton Abbey with a passion because, like all tabloid journalists, they're bitter and twisted people who despise any success other than their own.

but its possible that people planned to watch EE on BBC 3, like they might have planned to watch something else on ITV 1+1.

BBC 3 being treated as a repeat /+1 is subjective, but not without merit.

Which would pull down the average, let us all agree EE on BBC3 got 1million up to the Xmas Day midnight cut-off, EastEnders wins Christmas Day twice!!! both Overnights and +1/+2/+3 etc....

I Don't think you can say they are dying. there are hundreds of digital channels now but to have over 17m watching on the two main channels is pretty impressive to me.

Funny how it's kind of the opposite of the most watched programme of 2011 "problem", with +1 etc X Factor wins (if the BBC News is ignored which it shouldn't be) without +1 The Royal Wedding wins. I'd imagine ITV will spin so they top both, as many won't see the hypocrisy.

Also hilarious that ITV and the media's obsession with outdated and increasingly irrelevant overnights means that only ratings nerds will likely ever find out about DA's narrow unaggregated win; the press reported EE's victory on the 27th so the story is now dead - until next xmas when the media go back to their old.reports and trot out the overnights again.

Poor ITV, poor Julian...

I'm not sure it's ITV's obsession!

Stunning timeshift for DA whether it won or not.

This has been my view for a while.
If we include +1 we need to include other same day repeats.

Just to note some good time shifts for Who (as we've come to expect), Ab Fab, and most especially Michael McIntyre. Thats an 8m official for a show that finished at 11.35 - and less than half a million behind Strictly! They can't fail to bring him back next year with those sort of numbers.

Here's my view:

It's hard to argue much with the statement that 'EastEnders was the most watched programme overall on Christmas Day' taking into account all showings.

However, we wouldn't normally take other showings into account so why should we here? The significant development is that the premiere of Downton Abbey's Christmas Special had more viewers than everything on BBC One. And, channel preferences to one side, that is remarkable.

Yes you are correct, it was obvious the DA timeshift was going to be a good 2m+ based on previous episodes - those 12 million regular viewers were going to watch it eventually. I would like to see just one evening of raw data of live viewings (and +1)... just to see how many people actually watch a show as it is broadcast.

In the TV world Boxing Day didn't end until 2am.

it's like New Year Live jumping into the top 20 highest rated programmes list for 2011 even though most of the programme was in 2012. New Year's Eve, in TV land, didn't end until 2am.

Xmas Day ends at 05.59am like all others in telly terms.